A Daily Show segment on voter suppression containing an interview with Buncombe County, NC Republican precinct chairman Don Yelton, who called African-Americans "lazy" and "stupid", among other things, has cost Yelton his job.

Also said by Yelton:

"When I was a young man, you didn't call a black a black, you called him a negro."

"I had a picture one time of Obama sittin' on a stump as a witch doctor and I posted that on Facebook. I was making fun of the white half of Obama, not the black half."

"If [the law] hurts the whites so be it. If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it."

Buncombe
GOP Chairman Henry Mitchell called the remarks "offensive, uniformed
and unacceptable of any member within the Republican Party."

"Let
me make it very clear, Mr. Yelton's comments do not reflect the belief
or feelings of Buncombe Republicans, nor do they mirror any core
principle that our party is founded upon," Mitchell said in a press
release. "This mentality will not be supported or propagated within our
party."

...The state party leadership also issued a statement calling for Yelton's resignation.

Yelton told the Asheville media on Thursday that he stands by his comments.

"I've
been laughed at by Democrats since I left the party. They try to make
me look like a fool," he told WLOS-TV. "This is being picked up in
Raleigh, across the state. They're trying to say, 'Look at this guy.
He's racist.' The whole question isn't about racism."

Comments

"isn't reflective of the Republican Party..."

The hell, you say.

Posted by: Tiger | Oct 25, 2013 8:24:48 AM

What the party spokesperson meant to say: "We don't think such ideas should be expressed so clearly and obviously. Mr. Yelton clearly fails to use our approved code words and half-truths to express the ideas we espouse. He is, therefore, a threat to our party."

Posted by: Chuck Mielke | Oct 25, 2013 8:49:40 AM

I was honestly so shocked with how honest this guy was when I watched his interview. Republican politicians always at least TRY to dress up their bigotry and hide their true political motives to come off as less repugnant.

It's seriously a joke for them to say this guy isn't representative of their party. The GOP would collapse overnight if all of them were this honest.

Posted by: JMC | Oct 25, 2013 8:54:39 AM

@JMC - The Tea Party extremism, and the fact that Tea Party extremism has been embraced by the Republican Party, has given the impression that racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia and other types of bigotry are perfectly fine. These views are reinforced by the Faux Noize echo chamber, where they are endorsed by extremist talking heads.

People like Yelton do not live in the normal world any more, and see no problem with saying in public what they say -- constantly -- in private.

Posted by: Gregory In Seattle | Oct 25, 2013 9:17:54 AM

Joe Scarborough & others have long advised Republican candidates to keep their mouth shut concerning their bigoted views on social issues. Then (he says) after they are elected, they can put in effect anything they want.

So even when these GOP radical are not blatant, don't think they'll be "moderate" once they gain power.

Posted by: JonnyNYNY2FLFL | Oct 25, 2013 9:22:36 AM

"The whole question isn't about racism."

If not racism, then what is it about? The hoke-pokey?

Posted by: Sam | Oct 25, 2013 9:35:06 AM

White trash.

Posted by: Jack M | Oct 25, 2013 9:49:28 AM

@JONNYNYNY2FLFL: It's called misdirection. Rand Paul gave an example of to use misdirection in a speech he delivered before a college audience recently. He advised them, misdirection works. It's a key element of the GOP playbook. As Romney noted, if he told voters the truth about his platform, they wouldn't vote for him.

Posted by: Bob R | Oct 25, 2013 9:55:25 AM

Buncombe GOP Chairman Henry Mitchell called the remarks "offensive, uniformed and unacceptable of any member within the Republican Party."

It was, apparently, perfectly acceptable for the Republicans to have an open racist as a precinct chairman...that is, until he opened his fat stupid yap on national TV and made them look bad.

Posted by: Andy | Oct 25, 2013 10:21:07 AM

According to Mitchell, Yelton occurred in a vacuum.

Posted by: TruthTeller | Oct 25, 2013 10:37:17 AM

Russell Brand just spoke very strongly about why NOBODY should vote. And I think maybe he convinced me.

Read his editorial at the New Statesman. And watch his recent interview with Paxman. Make up your own mind.

Posted by: Randy | Oct 25, 2013 10:37:56 AM

Doesn't sound much different than the things Ratbastard/Rick writes on here.

Posted by: Francis #1 | Oct 25, 2013 10:54:07 AM

"I've been laughed at by Democrats since I left the party. They try to make me look like a fool,"

Let's see"
webbed feet and a flat beak: check;

quacks a lot: check;

waddles: check.

Yep. It's a fool.

Posted by: Acronym Jim | Oct 25, 2013 11:07:53 AM

the Republican party's new official statement:

" Let me make it very clear, Mr. [FILL IN THE NAME] comments do not reflect the belief or feelings of [FILL IN LOCATION] Republicans, nor do they mirror any core principle that our party is founded upon ... This mentality will not be supported or propagated within our party."

Posted by: Dan | Oct 25, 2013 11:44:29 AM

Yeah, I guess the RNC will now have dozens of meetings trying to find out how that man became a precinct captain. Won't they?

Posted by: jamal49 | Oct 25, 2013 12:52:31 PM

I'm a little unclear. The headline says he was forced to resign. The text just said people were calling for his resignation, but that he stands by his statements. When did he resign?

Posted by: Alan | Oct 25, 2013 1:06:00 PM

I saw the interview and although I appreciated the absurdity of this guy, I'll admit a part of me just saw it as biz as usual.

So what kind of evidence does the SCOTUS need to say, oops, I guess we got that wrong after all?

Posted by: Pete N SFO | Oct 25, 2013 1:22:23 PM

There is no voter suppression. The voter integrity laws are race and gender neutral. And yes, if you are too lazy to work then you are probably too lazy to make sure that you are registered to vote and that it matches your drivers license.

Posted by: Endora | Oct 25, 2013 1:30:23 PM

tea party member accidentally speaks mind...news at 11

Posted by: EchtKultig | Oct 25, 2013 2:08:39 PM

Looking at this guy and his features, one has to wonder if he has more than "one drop" in his background.